Projects for a pension fund office (May 2014 – June 2015, Top 10 pension fund in The Netherlands)
4 augustus 2015
The first project was a preliminary research on possible simplifications for the closed DB plan. Due to standing agreements and plan rules it remains needed to document and transfer knowledge on these arrangements. This poses a risk for the continuity and managebility. The research has led to further indepth business cases by own staff and expected implementation in 2015/2016.
After this project I could start as a project officer for the implementation of a net pension arrangement (new legislation in The Netherlands, in effect from 1 January 2015) for the new DC pension fund. At the start of the project I made the project plan including all deliverables (more than 100). Also mapping the deadlines, stakeholders and project risks. Based on the planning I monitored the progress. The project was build on different work streams including communication, IT, legal and AO/IC.
In addition to monitoring progress, I took part in technical discussions, made process descriptions and documented decisions. The teamwork led to succesfull implementation of the backbone from 1 January 2015 (first net pensionarrangement in The Netherlands) and full technical implementation from 1 April 2015 (worldwide, over 1000 expat employees). In the final phase I assisted with the manual solution and implementation of the automatic interface toward the third party provider.
Lessons learned from these prohjects are (among others):
- Starting off with experts from different areas gives good insights in the complexity of a project
- Working parallel on deliverables (even with dependencies) is needed when deadlines are very tight
- Keeping overview (details and big picture) is vital for the core project team
- Designing and implementing something new is challenging, but also very rewarding
- Even within complex (IT-)organisations quick results are possible with the right focus and commitment
I look back on these projects with pride and am looking forward to sharing my knowledge and expertise on new projects.
Want to know more or need help with your project, contact Marc Simon Visser, m.s.visser@actuarialadvice.nl
Risk Management Seminar for Pensionfunds
28 maart 2014
March 27th 2014 Zanders organised a Risk Management Seminar for Pensionfunds. During this seminar Actuarial Advice presented the consequences the new FTK legislation will have on pensionfunds. This presentation was done using Prezi. If you are interested in the (Dutch) presentation use the following link:
Presentatie Seminar
If you have any questions and/or remarks, please contact Marc Simon Visser, m.s.visser@actuarialadvice.nl
Summary of the LED 2014
17 february 2014
On February 11th 2014 the LED 2014 took place. This is an event for students that are studying econometrics. It gives them the oppurtunity to make contact with companies. This includes working on cases, having a social drink and dinner. On behalf of Timeos, Actuarial Advice has developed a case with the title: "New FTK, let's get started'. Based on a short presentation, case description and a simplified model the 20 students should develop a new pension arrangement, asset mix, smoothing period and pension increases policy. By changing the parameters the contribution rate, required solvency ratio and results for different generations were generated. After some time, they also received additional requirements that should be met, this made it harder to get to an optimal solution.
40 Students have worked on this case. In the morning 20 and in the afternoon 20, they worked in groups of 4 students. This gave them the possibility to discuss and deliberate on different solutions. The outcomes were very different, ranging from extremely risky asset mixes, to low accrual rates. But also very sophisticated solutions. In many cases the pensionable age was increased, even up to 70. This is logical as the accrual rate is lowered (fiscal law) it takes longer to accrue a reasonable level of pension payments at pensionable age.
Are you interested in the case or the model, please contact Marc Simon Visser, m.s.visser@actuarialadvice.nl
Launch of the website
20 januari 2014
January 20th 2014 the website of Actuarial Advice was launched. Thanks to the help of Remy van Gelderen from Road IT this website has been developed over a short period and has a modern look. On the website you will find information about Actuarial Advice and the focus that the company has. I wish you an enjoyable readthrough and am happy to come into contact with you for a personal conversation.
Marc Simon Visser